Detective Sgt. Carl Buster, right, of the Centralia Police Department, leads a class Thursday night at a joint Centralia Police Department and Lewis County Sheriff's Office Reserve Academy. Cadets who pass the academy will go on to be reserve officers with several agencies in the area.
The 14 cadets in the joint Centralia Police/Lewis County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Academy are a diverse bunch.
They range in age from 20 to 61. Two are women. One is an elected official. They are National Guard members, IT technicians and corrections officers. Despite their differences, they are all committed to giving up evenings and weekends to train as reserve law-enforcement officers, either to strengthen a commitment to volunteering, or to pursue a life-long career goal.
“They’re supportive of each other,” said Detective Sgt. Carl Buster, of the Centralia Police Department, one of the coordinators of the program. “They’re starting to do things outside the academy together; they’re studying together.”
Many of the cadets are young and eager to parlay their time as a reserve into a career as a full-time law enforcement officer.
Class president Samantha Cisneros, 26, is one of two women in the reserve academy.
Cisneros said she got a good job working for the state after high school and didn’t plan on going to college. Then she got laid off.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she said.
However, she was always intrigued by true crime TV shows, and decided to follow her passion by taking classes at Centralia College, then got a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from St. Martin’s University. Since then she’s joined the Army National Guard and is in the reserve academy to bolster her chances of getting a job as a full-time law enforcement officer. She will volunteer as a reserve with the Centralia Police Department.
Ultimately, Cisneros wants to be on a SWAT team.
“That’s what I want to do, and I will get there,” she said.
The academy, run jointly by the Centralia Police Department and the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, started in April and runs through September. Classes are scheduled for two nights during the workweek and most Saturdays, resulting in an accumulated 260 hours of training for the 14 cadets in the program. The cadets will go on to work as reserve police officers at the Centralia Police Department and Sheriff’s Office, as well as other law enforcement agencies in the area.
Cadet Jared Kasinger, 28, is one of several cadets who work as corrections officers with the Lewis County Jail.
“The jail has been kind of a stepping stone,” he said. “I want to get on the road full time.”
The cadets must be invested in their goals, since they are sacrificing many of their evenings and weekends to be at the reserve academy.
“Time management is a huge thing … trying to manage your time with family, your day job,” Kasinger said.
Two cadets dropped out because of that struggle, Buster said.
“If it’s your goal, your passion to be in law enforcement, it’s a great opportunity,” Kasinger said.
Not all cadets are looking for a career. Port of Chehalis commissioner Mark Anders, 61, said he wanted another opportunity for public service. He has been a volunteer with the Sheriff’s Office for 6 years, and plans to now volunteer as a reserve
“This is just kind of the next level,” he said. “A lot are doing it to get from their day job to full time. I have no desire to go full-time.”
Reserve officers don’t take the place of a full-time employee, but can be used to augment a department’s staff during holidays or community celebrations, or other busy times.
Reserves with a Class 1 status can work alone but do not investigate felonies in most departments. Class 2 reserves work with a full-time officer.
Classes include topics such as defensive tactics, first aid and CPR, criminal law and procedure, firearms instruction, crisis intervention and EVOC training, which stands for emergency vehicle operator course, and will be taught by instructors from local police agencies, the Washington State Patrol and the Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, among other organizations. Participants will also practice mock crime scenes and learn about investigating crimes.
On Thursday night, the 14 cadets in the Reserve Academy learned about procedural rules, how to approach loud parties, bar fights or domestic violence calls.
Buster, handling instruction for the day, peppered his lecture with stories about his own experiences.
“If the bar calls you, it’s bad,” Buster said.
On Saturday, they were scheduled to begin practicing mock traffic stops and other practical skills.
With graduation scheduled for Sept. 3, the academy is about half over. Buster said all of the cadets are doing well so far.
Buster told his students to focus on educating members of the public when they are able, and to treat people in the community the way they would want their own families treated.
“Over time and growth and maturity, I learned the way you talk to people will get you everywhere,” he said. “Always be professional … The way you treat people out there, it will come back.”
Instructors also talk about dealing with the stress and sometimes the trauma of the job. They advise cadets to stay healthy and focus on family and other interests beyond police work as well.
“It’s not a career you can just take lightly,” he said. “I’m coming up on 20 years. There’s been a lot of good and there’s been a lot of bad.”
